How to Plan a Stopover in Iceland

Though the days when jets had to stop in Reykjavik to refuel on their way from North America to Europe are gone, it’s still easy and cheap to plan a short stopover in Iceland on your way to or from Europe.

Icelandair offers service to Iceland from Boston, New York, and Seattle, and seasonally from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, Halifax, and Toronto. From Reykjavik, you can connect to over 20 destinations in Europe, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bergen, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Glasgow, London, Munich, Oslo, Paris, and Stockholm. And, rather than just connecting in Reykjavik, you can plan a stopover at no additional charge. Stay for two days, stay for a week – there’s no additional fare charge.

And with so much that can be seen and done in just a few days in Iceland, why not add a free stopover in Iceland on your way between Europe and North America? Refresh in the Blue Lagoon, tour the Golden Circle, take a ride on an Icelandic horse, try some Icelandic specialties, buy a woolen lopapeysa sweater for a souvenir and then be on your way, having visited two countries for the price of one.

It would be quite nice in October…you may get a fair bit of rain, but you’ll also get to see the leaves change color. There could be snow in some areas, temps would most likely be between 40 and 45, though they could be as low as 30-35 or as high as 50-55. As a trade off for the colder weather though, prices will be much lower and there’ll be fewer people, and some attractions will be closed. The good thing is that you can stay in Reykjavik (as I did when I went during March) and still do a ton of day trips to the surrounding areas.